Name some artistic mappers

[OceanMadman]

Yeah, just mention some mappers whose maps you would consider to art because how creative, beautiful, etc. they are, aaand if possible say what are your favorite maps of them so I know where to begin :)

[Mystic 256]

Mouldy's maps are pretty strange and creative and I like them a lot

Antares031's maps has a lot of cool skylines and architecture

Bridgeburner's maps have amazing architecture too, very good use of GZDoom features

 

 

[TheHambourgeois]

@Thelokk has a great style, dont think any specifically stand out the baseline is pretty high

[Insaneprophet]

The world building and architectural visual story telling both inside and outside of the play area in all of Tangra666's maps (Deciever Of The Underworld thread) is as amazingly artistic to me as something like Jaska's Lost Civilization. I'm always trying to get him more exposure.

 

Edit- I also shouldnt forget Blexor's various contributions to community projects. His maps absolutely look and feel like real places.

Edited June 30, 2023 by Insaneprophet

[Shepardus]

dobu gabu maru's maps are as wildly varied and bold as they are meticulously crafted. Exploring a map by him is always exciting. For specific map recommendations, check out this thread:

 

I also have to mention B.P.R.D, because even if I don't particularly love his maps myself, it's hard to deny the impression that he's left with works like The Mucus Flow, Grove, Equinox, and even Nuts 3.

[LadyMistDragon]

SuperCupcakeTactics, the lamp, and sometimes MFG38 as well for some of his fancy abstraction. Big Ol' Billy is another one.

[BonJoviStatue]

Overrated opinion, but I think dannebubinga and Ribbiks's maps are artistic.

[HiMyNameIsChair]

Oh that's a tough one.. so many names that come to mind

 

Eternal is definitely one, and honestly Hell Ground to me is art. both of his Gravity maps, Warp of Time, Bloodwall, and Plutonium Rust are definitely up there for favourites

 

Another would have to be Jaska Impola. He is on a different level when it comes to natural landscapes and doomcute. my favourite for him would be Oceanside, i remember seeing the sight of this grand, sprawling landmass, surrounded by water and mountains and being awestruck.

 

I couldn't not have Darkwave on this list, i owe so much of my own mapping principles to him. My favourites would be, Sedgemire, Vile Pain, Sledge and Dreamscape.

 

AtroNx, specifically for Cryonology. I think the moment I first saw, this grand, ornate castle, with its halls draped in shadows... while snow slowly falls outside permanently altered my brain chemistry. it might have been the map that made me want to give map-making a try.

 

B.P.R.D, would have to be on that list, it is very hard to pick which of his I like the most.... but I think i have to say Grove, because it makes me emotional in a way that i can't clearly define.

 

Emma Essex, with my favourite easily being Derelict Heart from GOODWAD. one of the only maps that's ever made me so emotional that it brought me to tears.

 

Kim André Malde, one of the all-time greats when it comes to gradient lighting. I will never be able to pick between Toxic Touch & Misri Halek. 

 

antares031, Cyriak Harris and Nanka Kurashiki are all on the shortlist too, but it's hard to pick a favourite for them. 

 

But yeah, lots of people come to mind, and if i didn't stop myself this would be like a mile long.

[Gibbitudinous]

So here's a thought: I wonder if Leo Martin Lim might be considered the first artistic mapper for Doom given how much of a step-up Doomday of UAC was from any other wad in 1994 (at least that I know of) in terms of creating a more atmospheric, more evocative, and overall more memorable experience than anything in vanilla Doom.

[ＤΞＬＴΛ]

[INSERT SHAMELESS SELF PROMOTION HERE]

[Nefelibeta]

yakfak/ZZZV (in a more abstract way)

[Berubaretto]

Xaser, for his "enigmatic" map layout.

[Jizzwardo]

Nirvana, Benjogami, Bemused; Insane Gazebo and rd all come to mind for me (Fractured Worlds; The Egg of Human Endeavours/Toilet of the Gods; Abandon; Sunder and Eden all really blew me away when I played them), though I feel like "artistic" maybe isn't something I'd be very confident defining XD, I just tend to think of these as creative and beautiful maps.

[baja blast rd.]

On 7/2/2023 at 1:14 AM, HiMyNameIsChair said:

Oh that's a tough one.. so many names that come to mind

 

...

 

But yeah, lots of people come to mind, and if i didn't stop myself this would be like a mile long.

 

I love this post. Please "don't stop yourself" at some other time. :P

[s4f3s3x]

1 hour ago, Nefelibeta said:

yakfak/ZZZV (in a more abstract way)

 

Which WADs are these images from?

[PeterMoro]

@Viggles is one of the best IMO. Check out: Breach and Brigandine. The visuals are stunning.

[VoanHead]

Nanka Kurashiki's contributions in JPCP are great. She even has a pixiv where she uploads her cute doom fan art.

[Nefelibeta]

1 hour ago, s4f3s3x said:

 

Which WADs are these images from?

Northern Powerhouse

Hexasketch Map31

[s4f3s3x]

1 hour ago, Nefelibeta said:

Northern Powerhouse

Hexasketch Map31

 

Thank you, they seem quite intriguing and I can see why you mentioned them in this topic. Strange how the .txt for Hexasketch doesn't mention MAP31 being there, but there it is. Truly a secret level, maybe the author wasn't fond of it

Edited July 14, 2023 by s4f3s3x

[galileo31dos01]

Since "artistic" is so subjective and I suck at explaining myself, I'll keep it to three for now.

 

- Mechadon, when I think of deployment of stock textures and variants, abstraction, moody lighting, sense of scale - these combined together, such that everywhere I see is awe-inspiring and even at times feeling cozy in a strange way. There is Counterattack and Vela Pax as two examples of this.

 

- Psyren (aka. isthisnametaken), when I think of maps built around a geometric figure -mainly hexagons- or a specific pattern that does involve symmetry, where the automap view has a mandala or a bunch of cool honeycomb-like figures, which I like a lot. His wad Rylayeh first came to mind.

 

- Muumi, when I think specifically and particularly about this teddybear ... though on a more serious note (not that I wasn't serious about the teddybear!), if there is art in creating settings that feel genuinely haunted and eerie, not only from the environment but also like if monsters came from afterlife rather than hell .. and there IS art in that .. this mapper hits the right notes for me.

[The BMFG]

@Clippy has always been good when it comes to visual designs in his maps imo 

[cannonball]

Plenty of good names popping up. I will throw Tourniquet into the ring, not just for the likes of Miasma (which is gorgeous), but for the sheer level of intricacy of some of the maps he has produced, even more so regarding some that are vanilla compatible.

[DJVCardMaster]

LordEntr0py for sure, he does not have quantity, but a lot of artistic quality in his few maps.

[RonLivingston]

I know about Stephen Clark as my favorite Artistic Mapper, The same goes for Kristus and Erik Alms

[dististik]

Benjogami has had the most mesmerizing effect on me through mapping aesthetics alone. While I can think of plenty of names that make beautiful maps, there's something about the weird (in a good way!) way Benjo uses textures and builds setpieces that I adore.

[GarrettChan]

Tourniquet, but I realized cannonball sniped me already :^)

[Antkibo]

antares031 and skillsaw

[ENEMY!!!]

When I think of artistic mappers I'm more inclined to think of mappers with a range of artistic talents, so some of the prolific musicians, e.g. Jimmy, esselfortium, Remilia Scarlet, Dragonfly spring to mind.  Also Insane Gazebo for the later Sunder maps - I'm not a fan of slaughter maps but I sometimes load up the later Sunder maps with -nomonsters and marvel at the architecture and expansiveness of the maps.  Pinchy and FishyClockwork as well, for some inventive portal trickery.

 

The first name that came to mind was Ben "Makkon" Hale, not just for creating literally thousands of textures, but also creating grand architectural example maps ranging from gothic castles and cathedrals to industrial yards, and also sporadically doing drawings and music tracks.  Makkon isn't a Doom mapper per se but has already influenced a number of Doom mappers.

Edited July 14, 2023 by ENEMY!!!

[Daytime Waitress]

A lot of killers have already been mentioned, but I was surprised to see a lack of squonking.  @Egg Boy in particular always produces maps that unite the gameplay and aesthetic expectations of whatever project he's involved in, without being grandiose.

 

@Bri does a similar thing, although his visuals pop off the screen and hit you a little harder. Maybe Scorn does it best because there we can see what he's capable of with only default textures, but I'm a sucker for anything with bright skyboxes.

 

But in an even more "low-key vibe" (as the kids say these days),  @RonnieJamesDiner's Nensha really stuck with me. It's not the most ornate, nor the most extreme, but it fits my personal expectations of "what Doom probably looks like in the 2020's".

 

And then there's @msx2plus, who just up and shatters all those preconceptions of what I think Doom mapping can be, visually and in terms of gameplay.

Edited July 14, 2023 by Daytime Waitress

[OceanMadman]

Man, most people that have been mentioned in this thread are mappers that I've never heard about or barely played anything they created. I guess I should start playing more maps by other people :P.